SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robin
L. Washington, executive vice president and chief financial officer
of Gilead Sciences, Inc., has been named the 2017 Financial Woman of
the Year by the Financial
Women of San Francisco (FWSF), a 400-member organization of
professionals in finance and financial services. This award is the
organization’s highest honor.

“Robin Washington was selected based on her dedication to the
advancement of women in finance and because she serves as an inspiring
role model for women who strive to achieve senior leadership positions,”
said Paige Venable, president of the Financial Women of San Francisco.
“Robin’s professional success and her commitment to helping other women
travel along their personal and professional journeys made her our
unanimous choice to receive this award, our highest tribute, in 2017.”

At Gilead,
Washington established the Women’s Leadership Forum for the CFO
organization, which helps female leaders develop their leadership skills
and facilitates discussions with female leaders throughout the
organization and broader business community. She is also the recipient
of numerous awards and accolades, including being named one of Black
Enterprise’s “Most Powerful Women in Corporate America”; ranking
sixth on the Wall Street Journal’s 2014 list of top-performing
CFOs on the S&P 500; being awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from
Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management; as
well as being honored with the 2017 Bay Area CFO of the Year Awards’
Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I am passionate about ensuring the advancement of women in leadership
roles and careers in finance. As a senior female leader, it is an honor
and responsibility to support and encourage women along their career and
life journeys in the same way that my mentors and sponsors have
supported me,” said Washington. “I am deeply honored to receive this
award, and grateful to the Financial Women of San Francisco for their
sustained commitment to helping women advance their careers.”

Washington will deliver a keynote address at the 22nd annual Financial
Woman of the Year luncheon on October 6, 2017, an annual event that
provides funding for scholarships for Bay Area women pursuing careers in
finance and financial services.

A certified public accountant, Washington joined Gilead in 2008 as
senior vice president and CFO, overseeing the global finance and
information technology organizations. She was promoted to executive vice
president in 2014. Prior to this she held executive and management
positions with major Bay Area technology companies. She is a member of
the board of directors of Honeywell International, Salesforce.com and
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Washington holds a bachelor’s
degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and an
MBA from Pepperdine University.

Last year’s Financial Woman of the Year event raised a record
$418,000 in corporate in-kind and cash contributions. All proceeds
benefit the FWSF Scholarship
Fund, which directly funds scholarships for women in the San
Francisco Bay Area pursuing a career in finance or financial services.
FWSF has awarded over $2 million in scholarships over the past 30 years
to more than 200 Bay Area women.

The Financial Woman of the Year award and celebratory luncheon
was established in 1996 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of
the organization. Past FWSF Presidents Leslie Miller and Shelly Porges
created the Financial Woman of the Year event with a triple
purpose: to raise funds for FWSF’s scholarship program, to create
greater awareness of the FWSF, and to celebrate and promote careers of
the most senior women in finance. Since then it has provided a platform
for high-achieving honorees to share their professional experience with
others, inspiring them in their own careers and ambitions. Washington
joins a distinguished list of previous
honorees, including Debbie Messemer, managing partner of KPMG’s Bay
Area Market; Carrie Dolan, former chief financial officer (CFO) of
Lending Club; Sarah Friar, CFO of Square, and Pat Yarrington, CFO of
Chevron.

For more information about the Financial Woman of the Year
program, scholarship programs or to become a sponsor, click
here.

About The Financial Women of San Francisco

The Financial Women of San Francisco seeks to advance the success of
women in finance and financial services and to be a source of insight
and inspiration to financial women executives and managers throughout
the Bay Area.